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Don’t Miss Our “In The Mood For Love” Contest! Details Below

Rahayu Rahmat was not feeling well that particular morning. Something someone said the other night was still haunting her. Being HIV+, the 49-year-old mother of four was used to getting nasty remarks from strangers. But that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t hurt.

Lying in bed, gloomy and slightly broken, she suddenly caught a sniff of something burnt. She turned over to look and there he was, her husband Rosli Ismail, holding a plate of charred toast and eggs. The breakfast didn’t look all that appetising but for Rahayu, it was enough to make her day.

“This is why I love him. He’s a lousy cook but he would do it anyway to make me feel better. Nobody has done that for me,” shares Rahayu during a recent interview in Petaling Jaya.

Rosli, a former NGO worker and a recovering drug addict, smiles at his wife of nine years. Caring for Rahayu and her four children from her first marriage has always been his priority.

Even when Rahayu and her kids were living hand to mouth on the streets of Johor Baru all those years ago, scraping the bottom of garbage bins for leftover food, the 52-year-old Rosli was determined to help them.

Rosli first met Rahayu and her children in 2009 when she was looking for potential clients along the dodgy backstreets of JB. Rahayu, a former English lecturer at a Singaporean college, was homeless and penniless. She had to had to resort to being a sex worker to support her family.

Rahayu and Rosli, who had been married since 2010, eagerly share that their paths could have crossed when they were still teenagers studying in Singapore. “Our schools were just 30 minutes apart and we were even at the same school events!” says Rahayu.

“She took the bus from the same bus stop that I used,” chimes in Rosli rather excitedly.

But as fate would have it, their paths only crossed when they were at their lowest. “I was actually part of an NGO. We were doing street feeding that day and I saw her and her kids,” recounts Rosli. “I wanted to know what her story was. I was trying to make her open up but she was reserved.”

For Rosli Ismail and Rahayu Rahmat, it’s not just love that keeps them together. Communication and understanding each other make their marriage a success.

In 2018, Rahayu wrote her autobiography Be Careful Of This Woman: My Journey To Freedom. In the book, Rahayu recounts in vivid detail on how she ended up on the streets and her long and painful journey to freedom.

In January 2019, Shah Alam-based theatre company Anomalist Production staged a play called Forget Me Not which was inspired by Rahayu’s story.

But Rahayu wasn’t always this open to sharing her tale. Just like the day when she first met Rosli on the streets, trust was not a luxury. “I was so afraid of men getting close to me,” says Rahayu, a slight quiver in her voice.

It was her husband from her first marriage who sold her to a brothel in 2003 to pay off his drug debts. He also infected her with HIV. Their house in JB was also auctioned off and before long, he had sold their children’s Singaporean citizenship and birth certificates, forcing them to live on the streets (her youngest daughter was barely a year old!).

A year later, Rahayu was kicked out of the brothel because she had HIV. And when she finally found her children, she had no choice but to return to the streets to keep her family alive.

It was her determination and bravery that caught Rosli’s attention. He was also homeless at that time. He was living in a shelter run by the NGO he was working with.

“Her courage attracted me, that she kept going for her children,” says Rosli, who is also HIV+. “I know people who’d sold off their children because they couldn’t afford to feed them. But she didn’t do that. She’s just incredible and courageous,” he adds.

Rosli managed to get Rahayu and her children off the streets and found them a small flat in JB to live in. He also helped her children to retrieve their original birth certificates from Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and eventually secured their Malaysian citizenships in 2012.

Now, three of her children are gainfully employed while the youngest is in her final year of secondary school. “He showed that he was sincere towards me. That touched me to the core. He wasn’t after free sex. He genuinely wanted to help me,” says Rahayu.

Eventually, the frequent meet-ups grew into a deep friendship. And soon, both Rahayu and Rosli were going out.

“I remember there was once we went out to watch a movie in town and he wanted to hold my hand. I told him not to because over the years, I’ve had so many customers.

“I didn’t want people to look down on him. But he couldn’t care less. He said if he’s not ashamed, why should I be?” recalls Rahayu fondly, adding that it took Rosli several tries before she agreed on marrying him.

A photo of the couple with Rahayu’s four kids from her first marriage on a family vacation: (L-R) Rosli, Rahayu, Muhammad Zulhielmi, Assyuhada Nur Fiqa, Muhammad Zaferelli and Ainnurul Assyura (front). Photo: Rahayu Rahmat

The couple went on to set up Persatuan Kebajikan Sinar Sofia in 2011 to help the sex workers and the homeless in JB through street feeding programmes. In 2017, they established the Sinar Sofia Shelter Home For Women, a halfway house to rehabilitate sex workers.

This would go on to define their marriage, never a moment apart and always engaged in activities together.

“Even if only one of us is invited to speak somewhere or when we’re attending a course, we’ll do it together, even if it means sleeping in separate rooms. As long as we are together,” says Rosli with a smile.

But Rahayu shares that it wasn’t always just love from the day they got married. This relationship was something they worked hard at together.

“Our marriage was not always based on 100% love. It was 50% love, 50% ‘let’s give it a try’. Then over the years, it slowly increased to ‘if without him, I can’t go on’. I even told him that if he ever dies first, I will stop doing whatever I’m doing because without him, I don’t think I can go on,” says Rahayu, fighting back her tears.

Rosli shares similar sentiments about his wife. “She keeps me clean and sober. Without her help and support, I know it’s going to be tough. For example, when I get angry, she would calm me down and prevent me from going out because she knows I could meet my friends and go the wrong way again,” says Rosli, who has been drug-free for nearly 10 years now.

Ultimately, for Rahayu and Rosli, what keeps their marriage alive and vibrant is communication and a deep understanding of each other. “He never bosses me around. Never. And he’s always patient with me although I flare up easily,” says Rahayu.

Rosli agrees with that saying that love is blind. “My wife always says that to me but love will wake you up after marriage because only then will all the challenging stuff start showing up.

“For me, you have to know and understand your partner very well before you make the decision of marrying that person … because if you say yes, you have to go all the way,” concludes Rosli.

“In The Mood For Love” Contest

StarLifestyle and Star2.com are bringing you love stories every day from Valentine’s Day to Chap Goh Meh. Read our stories and watch our videos, then go to our Facebook page (facebook.com/starlifestyle) to join our special “In The Mood For Love” contest, where you could win a pair of Longines HydroConquest watches worth RM10,000 for you and your loved one.

How To Win At Love!
1. Collect one question daily (Feb 14-19) from our FB page. You’ll find clues in the stories and videos. You must answer all six (6) questions.
2. Complete this slogan: Love is ….. (in not more than 50 words).
3. Email all six answers and slogan to star2@thestar.com.my by Feb 20 Wednesday. Include your full name, MyKad number and contact number, and don’t forget to add “In The Mood For Love Contest” in the subject field.

Terms & Conditions
1. The contest is open to all residents in Malaysia except for employees of the Star Media Group Berhad and members of their immediate families.
2. The prize cannot be exchanged for cash.
3. By participating in this contest, participants are deemed to have agreed to all rules and regulations of this contest. The Star reserves the right to alter/change/add/cancel any terms & conditions of contest without prior notice.
4. Judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entertained.

Chee

That man, Rosli, has signs of pre-diabetes or already has it. You can tell from the scaly, dark patchy skin and his obesity. Having a HIV wife is already bad enough and having to cope with new diagnosis of diabetes or something worse would be a blow to their new found love. He needs to go on diet and lose all that spare tyres before it’s too late!

Maureen

God blessing for the both off you , Happiness , Health & family , to be able to come back to the right path in life , support & stick to one another , such a wonderful , inspiring , life stiory , may you both have many year together & family to.

Tadashi Butoki

Both of you are angels in your own right. I can only hope that I’d have at least a tiny portion of the strength and willpower that you have. I pray for your health and for your life to always be blissfully blessed.